Congrats to the team behind the new 9 Mile Coffee Co, which has its grand opening today. (Tuesday, June 5, 2018).

The digs of the new coffee house will be familiar to many: the former home to Higher Grounds Coffee next to the Upstate insurance agency, smack in the middle between the Community Garden and Stewart’s on Main Street.

The creative team behind the new business are Andrew Gushee, his wife Kim and Brian and Andrea Hosan.

Andrew says he and his partners are motivated to make sure customers know the origin of their ingredients.

“We are sourcing as many local and organic products as we can. Our pastries come from a baker in North Creek and our coffee comes from Kru in Saratoga Springs.”

Kru Coffee has a cult following and has won fans for its wide selection of coffees chosen from farmers who produce fine beans and are socially responsible toward workers.

“All of their coffee is Fair Trade, Direct Trade, or Rainforest Alliance Certified”. The new business has invested in new, high tech coffee machines. The decor will be largely unchanged.

As for the name?

“Ah” says Andrew. “We originally went through a series of ideas and the one we wanted to use: ‘Blue Line Coffee’ was taken. We thought about various numbers associated with the lake, before we came up with 9 Mile”.

For Schroon Lake newbies -- or long distant readers -- 9 Mile refers to the length of the lake.

The team took over the lease from the previous tenant. They will run the store at its current location through the end of the summer. It will be open seven days a week during the season, initially from 7 am to 2 pm.

“We may adjust our hours to stay open later, but that’s not a priority right now.”

In addition, there is exciting news for the future of the business. The partnership is close to closing on a building on Main Street. They plan to gut and rebuilt the space from the inside out.

“This won’t be just a façade, but a real investment in Schroon.”

Andrew was full of praise for Lisa Hess-Marks, the co-proprietor of Pine Cone Mercantile and North Wood Bread Co.

“She has been a fantastic mentor. Her guidance through this process has been invaluable. She is a terrific asset to Schroon Lake.”